CHICAGO -- She ran off the field with a sense of exultation; she had regained the magic.

The previous frustrations that had mounted for Sophie Salem disappeared on a wet and windy afternoon. She put everything together. Sports have a rhythm and timing that is everything. She played with speed and concision. She anticipated beautifully.

“Finally,” she told her coach, Paul Escobar, as she took the equivalent of a bow for a fantastic performance.

The sophomore forward scored two goals and registered two assists and freshman midfielder Olivia Moore added two goals as a resurgent Payton offense fired on all cylinders in rolling to the 5-0 Chicago Public League Premier Division victory over Northside on late Wednesday afternoon at Winnemac Stadium.

Payton (7-2-1, 3-2-0) recorded its third-straight win and shutout. The Grizzlies have scored 17 goals during the run. Most impressively, the game revealed the promise and excitement of its young talent. All five goals were scored by two sophomores and a freshman.

Salem moves gracefully between the midfield and the top of the Grizzlies’ attack. Her sharp and exacting early play helped create a dominant mode of expression. Payton’s first two division games were tough assignments against league frontrunners Young and Lane. The Grizzlies manufactured strong chances against the pair but lacked a decisive closing touch.

“I have been trying to finish for a while,” Salem said. “I got back to my groove, which was good. I think, as a team, we had been struggling finishing but we have really gotten back to working on it and getting more goals going. I think we all did a good job of starting out intense and ready to play, and we kept that intensity up throughout the first half. We got the goals when we needed them.

“We just really wanted to beat Northside.”

For her top-notch effort, Salem earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.

Despite coping with the wind and wet natural surface, Payton started hot and never really let up. Salem was the early catalyst, a lively and eruptive talent who unleashed the attack. In the 10th minute, she drove the ball down the right flank and made a beautiful looping cross that freshman midfielder Olivia Moore smashed home with a header from about eight yards.

“Just like in practice, she normally crosses it very nicely to the back post,” Moore said. “I noticed a girl on my team going to the front post, so I decided to go back post.”

Salem’s original ball pulled Mustangs’ keeper Isabel Hopson off her line and Moore’s diagonal placement was perfectly played.

“I think that goal put us in a good mood and hyped us up a little more,” Moore said. “We came into the game thinking this is a rivalry match, and we want to win this. I think that early goal helped us get back into it.”

The fluid movement and sharp passing reflected a team coming together. Salem now has four goals and six assists. Moore also has four goals.

“We are getting more shots up in practice,” Moore said. “We are also just getting used to play with each other and we are doing more bonding now. I feel like now we all know where each other likes to make runs and we have a better sense of where everybody is going to be.”

Payton is entering a crucial part of its season. On Thursday night, the team plays at Jones, a division game that also doubles as a pool play game in the Chicago Cup. The offensive burst comes at a necessary point in the season; the team’s youth is now catching up with its talent and skill. Experience was all that was missing.

“I think it is the culmination of we are just trying to work on getting to the goal and get some shots off and when we see an opening to take it, and not sit back and wait,” Escobar said. “We are being more aggressive and just going for it.”

Fortune favors the bold. With the exception of Curie, all the Premier teams are either magnet schools or select enrollment schools. Payton and Northside began a tradition that preceded the arrival of Escobar and Northside coach Robert Albritton. The teams battle for control over a traveling trophy that is a customized fire hydrant. Northside had possession.

“It seems like every time we play, it’s like a championship game no matter where we are sitting in the standings,” Escobar said. “It is going to be a hard game and intense.”

Another prized sophomore talent, midfielder Hayley Owens, stepped up for the Grizzlies. In the 28th minute, she controlled a ball from about 19 yards and hammered a sidewinder that lifted and gained speed in curving inside the near post for the second goal.

Northside (5-7-1, 0-5-1) was thrown back by the early volley initiated by the Grizzlies.

“We have not been able to get results,” Albritton said. “Today was rough. I think our game plan did not really work out the way we wanted. We made some adjustments. We made some improvements in the second half. They’re a good team, and we could not quite get over the hump.”

The lopsided score conceals the Mustangs’ improved second half performance. Rebecca Skipper, a breathtaking talent up-top, broke free on a couple of moments and generated significant pressure in the final third. Payton standout senior keeper Hannah Lynn made six saves, three coming against balls initiated by Skipper.

“I think there were moments where you saw our team chemistry and how well we play together,” Northside midfielder Arly Escamilla said. “It was not the score we wanted. I felt like, some of the mistakes we made in the first half, I felt like our mentality was down. Then we picked back up in the second half.

“We got tired in the second half, and that is something we have to work on.”

The big difference was Payton utilized its chances.

In the 47th minute, Moore had the presence to finish a rebound ball after a Salem shot. Moments later, Salem got into the act. She was dangerous throughout the game, hitting the post in the first half. She punctuated the superb performance by recording impressive back-to-back goals.

Salem demonstrated touch and accuracy in blasting home balls from about 12 and 16 yards.

“We are really playing well together, getting our movement down and making quick passes,” Salem said. “That is what is getting our goals. We’ve been trying to come out as strong as we can, and that is something we have been working on. This was a really good game to finally start out strong and score early. That sets the tone for the rest of the game.”

Hopson was busy at her end, and she finished with eight saves for Northside.

The Mustangs showed admirable resolve to play until the very end, but the day belonged to Payton.

“We have some good players; there’s no question about that. But we have not found a way to put it all together,” Albritton said. “We’ve been winning games by a bunch, and we’ve been losing games by a bunch. I think at one point we had scored 30 goals and given up 30 goals.